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Allan Ray
Allan Ray (born May 17 1984 in the Bronx, New York) is a college basketball player for Villanova University and is now a senior, expected to enter the 2006 NBA Draft. He is not too be confused with NBA star Ray Allen. Recruited out of St. Raymond's High School in New York City by coach Jay Wright, he committed to the Wildcats in 2001, along with three other players that made up a highly praised recruiting class. Along with Randy Foye, Jason Fraser, and Curtis Sumpter, Ray was part of a class proclaimed as the players to lead the Wildcats back to a championship. Injuries have burdened both Fraser and Sumpter, and while Fraser plays part-time now, Sumpter has red-shirted with a knee injury and will play in the 2006-07 season. However, Foye and Ray reached the Elite Eight of the 2006 NCAA Tournament, playing with the other three starters in the four-guard offense; Mike Nardi, Kyle Lowry, and Will Sheridan. Ray's career at Villanova has also slightly been hampered by injuries, but nothing that hasn't kept him from scoring 2000 points as a Wildcat. His freshman season, he was a key contributor. He had 16 points in his Wildcat debut against Marquette on November 15, 2002. In his junior season, Ray was named second team all Big East and led the Wildcats in scoring with 16.2 ppg. That year, he also led Villanova to a Sweet 16 where they lost to eventual national champion North Carolina by one point. His senior season, however, has been his best. Along with Foye, they make up one of the best guard duos in the country. Ray is known as a streaky, but great, three-point shooter, and is excellent, like his teammate, at creating his own shot. At 6-2 and 195 pounds, he is an averaged sized guard. Villanova tied for the Big East regular season championship with Uconn and split their two games with the Huskies, winning the one played at home, in what some called the biggest Villanova win in over 20 years. Their final Big East regular season record was 14-2 in what some called the toughest conference ever. Overall, their record was 27-4. In 2006, Ray was named to the Big East first team, along with teammate Randy Foye, who was given the honor of Big East Player of the Year. A scary moment occurred during the 2006 Big East Tournament when Ray was poked in the eye by Carl Krauser during the semifinal game. His vision apparently left him for a period of time and his eyeball had seemed to come loose from the socket, leading most to believe it was an extremely serious injury. However, his vision returned and it turned out to be only soft tissue damage. He was able to play less than a week later in the NCAA tournament, without even goggles. In his first game back, he led Villanova in scoring. While on the video it appeared as though his eye came loose from the socket, his eyelid actually went behind his eye giving off the expression of his eye coming loose. However it did not. Ray was one of four finalists for the Naismith Award as top college basketball player in the country. Rudy Gay of Connecticut, Adam Morrison of Gonzaga, and J. J. Redick of Duke are the other three in a list that was whittled down from thirty. Villanova tied for the Big East regular season championship with Uconn and split their two games with the Huskies, winning the one played at home, in what some called the biggest Villanova win in over 20 years. Their final Big East regular season record was 14-2 in what some called the toughest conference ever. Overall, their record was 28-5. After combining for 44 points in Villanova's first 2 NCAA Tournament games against Monmouth and Arizona, Ray struggled in Villanova's last 2 games. He scored just 20 points on 8-34 shooting in his last 2 games as a Wildcat. Ray, Allan Ray, Allan Ray, Allan Ray, Allan Ray, Allan